fragile

28

Colton had done it.

He had confessed.

He had told her he loved her.

And she didn't take it very well.

He had told her when he was dropping her home after a picnic at the beach. They hadn't been speaking much and there was an awkward, tense silence that had developed between them.

Or, that's what he believed because he was finally starting to become restless again. Every time she smiled, his heart would well up and overflow with an emotion that couldn't be just described as joy for it was too plain. He found himself falling in love with her more every second that had passed.

But he didn't know if she felt the same.

And that feeling: that feeling of anxiety and agitation, of not knowing whether he could truly be with her like he wanted, took him back to when he was a kid.

As he grew older, he didn't really care.

But with Mira, it was the only thing that mattered. What she thought, what she said -- everything. She had already become his entire world.

Colton stopped himself from chuckling to himself at the realisation that he was beyond simply whipped.

They suddenly had stopped in front of her house and she waved goodbye to him.

"Mira," he called as she headed to the door.

He was going to do it.

He needed to tell her then or he felt as if he was going to go crazy.

She stopped and looked back at him questioningly.

"Mira," he repeated, closing the distance between them. "I...I know that this is probably the last thing you're expecting from me. I don't know how you're going to react, to be honest, but I, um," he stumbled over his words as he glanced up at her from the floor.

He watched as her eyebrows slowly furrowed in confusion.

Colton was slowly losing confidence: he couldn't do it.

He was chickening out as if he was his fourteen-year-old self confessing to his crush for the very first time.

He had been silent for far too long.  "I'm sorry. It's late and I'm keeping you. You—you should get inside."

When his eyes met hers again, he felt miserable and hoped he didn't look as miserable as he was feeling. The one thing he wanted in his life, he probably couldn't ever have because he was being a wimp.

Fists clenched by his side at how pathetic he was, he watched hopelessly as Mira nodded slowly.

"Okay," she said, softly before turning once again towards her door.

Come on, just say it, Colton!

"I love you," he announced to her back.

It had happened so suddenly that even he was surprised for a split second.

Mira had frozen in place for a few seconds without facing him. Colton swallowed, trying to ease his suddenly dry throat.

"Look, it's okay. You don't need to say anything. Take your time," he rushed out.

But he didn't mean anything he had said.

Colton was being selfish again because he wanted an answer right away.

He could hear his heart pounding in his ears and was more aware of his sweaty palms than ever.

Her reaction and what it would be was weighing on him too much to be able to focus on anything else.